21k hit in 1st wave of Assam floods

Guwahati: The first wave of floods hit Assam on Wednesday affecting nearly 21,000 people in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts in upper Assam, even as incessant rain caused massive landslides and breach of river embankment in various places in the state and neighbouring Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh in the past 24 hours.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), in its evening bulletin on Wednesday, said 20,768 people were affected by floods in Nowboicha in Lakhimpur district, where in nearby Dhemaji district, 157 people have been affected.
A total of 19 villages in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur have been inundated and crops in 13.5 hectares of land have been inundated, the bulletin said.
Dispur revenue circle in Kamrup (Metro) and Silchar revenue circle in Cachar district remain affected by urban floods, the ASDMA said.
In Nowboicha, a breach occurred at Singra river embankment that left people in Chamua Gaon marooned by flood water due to sudden slump down, heavy thrust and bank migration, the report stated. The Singra riverside bund was also breached at Fulbari Basti adding to people’s miseries.
Sources said the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has been pressed into rescue operation.